Cigar Review – Asylum Straight Jacket 50×5

It was almost a year ago that I first sampled the Asylum 13. Since then, I have lit it up on several different occasions and I’ve enjoyed each one more than the last, which is a rare experience for me. Not that I didn’t dig it the first time around, but repeated smokes from the brand have only strengthened my appreciation for it, so I was “psyched” to check out the Straight Jacket, the latest addition to Asylum’s line up. Get it? “Psyched.”

The Straight Jacket 50×5 had good, sturdy construction like that of Asylum’s previous releases. The blend of the cigar is 100% Nicaraguan, though I was unable to track down the particulars of wrapper, binder, and filler. All in all the stick had a pretty standard look, drawing all attention to the black, white, and metallic red band depicting a spiked straightjacket. Pre-light draws gave off a taste of slightly sweet, lemony citrus.

The cigar lit up to a smooth taste of earth and cocoa with a relaxed spice component. The draw was firm, but not as to hinder the smoke. I could taste a fiery bit of red pepper lurking in the finish. This had started off far creamier than I had expected, with heavy notes of cocoa and just a tiny bite of spice in each puff.

In the second 3rd the profile remained fairly smooth with an added dimension of baking spice to accompany the cocoa. A neat and tidy black and grey ash was now nearing the 2″ mark and the burn line was almost perfect. I began to pick up a new, syrupy sweetness during this portion.

The third phase of the Straight Jacket was the spiciest, with the baking spice joined by a touch of black pepper and turned up a couple of notches. A pronounced taste of earth dominated the profile in this final portion, balanced between a lingering sweetness and a rich tobacco finish.

The Straight Jacket 50×5 was full with dense flavors and and showed a clean performance on all accounts. Everything I had read described this stick as a powerhouse, “knock- you-on-your-ass” cigar, but to me it was on the high side of medium-bodied, and I smoked it on an empty stomach (unbeknownst to me, “pizza day” had been moved to Thursday and I had neglected to pack a lunch.) This was another solid smoke from the Asylum crew and I’d be interested to see how a little humi time might benefit this stick as I believe it did for the Asylum 13. Based on today’s session I give the Straight Jacket 50×5 a B+ grade, if you have been enjoying the brand’s output thus far you will likely appreciate this one as well.